Here’s a snippet from tomorrow’s J’Accuse column on the Malta Independent on Sunday.
I am a strong believer in the role of the press, of books and of ideas in the functioning of a proper democracy. As John Milton wrote in his Aeropagitica “He who destroys a good book, kills reason itself”.There’s much truth in that. A nation, even a small nation such as ours needs to recognise the value of authors providing different narratives and ideas. Authors provide opportunities for reflection, they may provoke and challenge or they may charm with vignettes and pictures of our society. In any case the worst we could do is censor the truths they tell about ourselves.
The press too needs to recognise the dignified importance of its role. It needs to shed the baggage of politically manipulative impostors who have burdened and sullied its image. Local political talk seems to focus on futile accusations related to partiality and the elusive mantra of absolute impartiality. Journalism does not need eunuchs or hypocritical gurus and coaches posing as the voice of objective impartiality. It needs clear ethics, clear ideas and above all the accountability that allows it to shout “publish and be damned”. Give me a journalist with a declared bias any day rather than the sanitised pantomimes that have neutered our thinking with the extended sagas of Broadcasting Authority illusions of par conditio.
